


Visit

by WoodsOfBlight



Category: Rayman (Video Games)
Genre: 5 minutes without the world ending, Gen, Post-Legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22995775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodsOfBlight/pseuds/WoodsOfBlight
Summary: Three comrades-in-arms enjoy some peace and quiet.
Kudos: 9





	Visit

Legends say that after all his great deeds and outstanding victories, the great Rayman, stalwart protector of the world, was forever lost to the endless dimension of squeaks, never to be found again.

“Alright, you win!” Rayman mumbled, his voice barely audible from beneath the living mountain.

Another round of squeaks acknowledged his yield and before long, the limbless could once again taste the sweet caress of sunlight. The tiny glutes, each adorned in blue, pink and every possible shade in between, were giggling loudly as he finally emerged from under them. Playing catch had become an almost unmanageable task, with over six hundred opponents. And that wasn’t even taking into account how some of them had begun to grow.

And yet, all of them treated the game no differently than in the years they’d known Rayman, even as some of them were steadily growing to be taller than him. To them, he was always their beloved uncle, someone who has been playing with them and helping them grow for as long as they could remember. His playful nature made it very hard not to be all over him, every time he would visit. He always had time to play games and entertain them, often for hours on end.

“I’ll be in big trouble when even half of your grow up to be like your parents.” he joked, though the mild fear of hundreds of Globox-sized kiddies assaulting him from every direction definitely would have caused anxiety to much sturdier people, than he was.

Backup arrived in the form of two familiar figures emerging from the woods, each packing a sizable pack of firewood. Both were enough to almost completely obscure their carriers, but they were easy to determine for a trained eye. Globox was easy to make out, his waddling unmistakable. The other was still relatively new to the kids, though it would have been difficult for Rayman not to recognize the telltale little wings sticking out on each side.

“-enough for a couple of weeks at least. Thank you for your help.” Globox said, not even really checking where he was going, just following the direction of his squeaking little children.

“Anytime!” Barbara responded from behind her stack.

Once the recognized the voices, part of the horde descended upon them as well, trapping them inside a constantly shifting vortex of children. This did make the retrieval task a bit more difficult, but the two handled it with as much grace as possible, somehow managing to neither trip, nor accidentally drop the firewood on anyone. Only once they wood was safely stored, could they even safely acknowledge Rayman.

“I hope you didn’t cause Uncle Rayman any trouble.” Globox said, many of his kids looking aghast they he’d even suggest something as awful as that.

“They’re getting scarily good at tag.” the limbless confessed, bright smile on his face as usual. “Everything went okay then?”

“Sure did. Barbara’s just like you, she can carry three times her own weight.”

“Five even, if I’ve got a meal in me.” she said, brushing some of the dirt and chips of wood off herself. “Globox showed me around the place. I like it, feels very cozy.”

“Half of it gets flooded during the rainy season.” Rayman said, rather glad to see the smile on the young barbarian’s face. When he offered her a proper tour around the Glade, she was more than happy to oblige. “You took a long time though. I thought you were just going to cut down the first tree you see and drag it back here.”

He meant that as a joke, but the brief wince on Barbara’s face was both noticeable and very unexpected.

“Branches are fine.” she said. “I’m not chopping any trees around here.”

“Why not?” he tilted his head a bit.

“Well, you know yesterday when we visited your friend? Not the uptight one, the other. The one with the silly hat?” Rayman had to stifle a giggle, as not many would openly call anything silly about Betilla. “She saw me getting my axe and was no happy about it. That woman’s scary.”

“Betilla?” Rayman frowned. “Are you sure? She’s one of the nicest people I know.”

“Next time you see her, look at her when she’s scolding someone. I mean, really-really look at her.” she shrugged, but it transitioned into more of a shiver. “She could stare down an army, if she wanted.”

Rayman couldn’t quite picture the nymph being anything close to scary, but it was also true that it took a lot of effort to even just faze Barbara, much less scare her. If anything, dangerous situations would attract her just for the thrill. Whether it was a mechanical dragon or a horde of ravenous Darktoons, she would always rush right through them without hesitation. The slight smile on Globox’s face made the story all the more likely though.

“So, how’s the Glade so far?” Rayman continued, diverting the question a bit.

“I can see why you like it here.” she said, looking around with a somewhat sheepish grin. “It’s quiet, it’s pretty, and also… really boring.”

That last remark got a laugh from both of her friends.

“I haven’t needed my axe in… more than 2 days!” she said, quickly counting the requisite amount on her fingers. “Nobody fights or shouts around here! There’s… there’s too many books!”

“Ly tried to give her one about the Glade.” Rayman interrupted her brief rant, making it very difficult for Globox to hold the second wave of laughter in.

“She couldn’t even lift my axe. How dare she try and make me read!” Barbara crossed her arms and showed her tongue, but was still smiling a moment. “Whatever. Next time you’re in the kingdom, I’ll show you all the fun stuff back home.”

“Will there be dragons?” Globox asked, slightly worried. He had vivid memories of running for his life, with a wall of fire closing in on him.

“As many as you want!” she said misinterpreting the question altogether.

Despite her claim of the Glade being boring, it was easy to notice how much more relaxed she was these days. Her stance, her demeanor, even the fire in her eyes has calmed to embers. There was a lot of urgency in fighting back against the Dark Teensies and now that there was no immediate world-threatening danger, Barbara could unwind a little more, even if that involved a lot more casual violence, than one would have normally assumed. That’s just part of who she was though. Her fiery blood would never let her stay away from some action for too long.

“How’s Elysia?” Globox asked. He had fond memories of the girl and her mostly humorous attempts at being a ‘darker’ counterpart to her otherwise equally chipper sister.

“She’s fine, just really busy with the rebuilding things, now that we chased all the nasties out. She’s a lot better at the whole 'kingdom stuff’.” she admitted, before sighing a bit. “You know, I still owe you a lot for helping me out.”

“Don’t mention it.” the glute was first to answer, his immediate dismissal of glory just making her grin more.

“Yeah, we’re always happy to help.” Rayman added, holding is hand out in a friendly gesture.

She didn’t even flinch and reached out in response, letting Globox join in and all but make both of their hands disappear in his huge palm. There were many people the limbless had come across throughout his adventures, many of whom needed his help one way or the other. Few have ever been as transparent about both their intentions, their emotions, or even their gratitude, as the young princess.

“Promise me you’ll visit soon.” she said, her gaze both playful and somewhat commanding. “You can even bring your friend, if you like. We’ll get her a proper weapon.”

“Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it, Globox?” Rayman asked, grinning to both the generous offer and the mental image of Barbara putting Ly through combat training. “We could use a vacation.”

“Elysia and I will treat you like royalty! With a feast of dragon steaks!” she boasted, getting excited over the prospect already. “Honor duels on every street corner. Everyone will try to beat you up!”

Nothing could have diminished their initial enthusiasm quite like that. While they did their best not to show it, the smile on their faces was decidedly frozen over.

Barbara immediately broke out in laughter over their distress. They followed suit, albeit hollow, as they just couldn’t make sure whether she was joking. Knowing her mannerisms, it was hard to tell sometimes. 

Still, they ended up laughing along in the end. After all, the prospect of immiment danger never has never really succeeded in putting them off anything. They could worry about the finer aspects of a trip some other time, now that their adventure had concluded and the world was at peace.

For now, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Visit my Tumblr, @woodsofblight, for more!


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